Samhälle och kultur – Australien – Populära podcasts

  • What Became of Jack? — the latest season of Unravel, the ABC's award-winning investigative true crime podcast series.

    27-year-old Queenslander Jack McLennan had been relaxing, drinking beers at a picnic spot, when his mate said he looked away, and when he looked back, Jack had vanished. Jack was fit and healthy, and even though he'd just been through a break-up, he seemed positive. But now, Jack was missing, and strange clues began to surface, hinting at his last movements. With online theories about the case spreading like wildfire, ABC journalist Rob Burgin sets out to investigate. Has there been a crime or not? He traces the fragments of that night through a web of small Queensland towns, where everyone knows everyone, everyone knows something, but no one can agree on what became of Jack.

    Previous series of Unravel cover various investigations into crimes and crime-related topics, including solved and unsolved murder cases, missing persons, forensic analysis, gangland crimes, love scammers, con-artists, drugs, terrorism, Neo-Nazis, and miscarriages of justice — all investigated by some of Australia's best reporters and people who know the story best.

    In Season 7, Blood on the Tracks, award-winning Muruwari and Gomeroi journalist Allan Clarke spends five years investigating the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of 17-year-old Gomeroi teenager, Mark Haines. In 1988, just outside of Tamworth in country New South Wales, a freight train hits Mark's body lying across the tracks. When the rail worker stops the train and gets out, the scene doesn't add up. The tracks divide Tamworth in two. An Aboriginal community on one side, a largely white population on the other. Some will say it was a suicide and others a murder. Despite the strange evidence found at the scene of his death, the family feel like they're being ignored by the police. An inquiry finds no answers, and the mystery is left to fester, causing division and suspicion in the town. Allan's reporting helps to spark a resurgence of interest in the case that sees the file reopened, a review launched, a reward announced. As Allan gets closer to the truth, the story ends with a revelation no one was expecting, and the thirty-year-old mystery finally begins to unravel. Blood on the Tracks won a Walkley award for Coverage of Indigenous Affairs. This series was re-published with a bonus episode due to updates and advances in relation to the case.


    In Season 6, Mr Big, journalist Alicia Bridges investigates a disturbing recording of a man admitting to a murder. She finds herself in a world of lies, gangland and subterfuge, where very few things are as they seem. Her reporting leads her deep inside an international controversy, to a world of secrets that powerful institutions don’t want revealed. 

    In Season 5, Firebomb, Crispian Chan investigates what really happened after his family’s restaurant went up in flames in 1988. He was just a kid when Chinese restaurants were being firebombed in the dead of night and a campaign of terror was underway in Perth. Thirty-five years on, most of us have never heard about it, even though it’s one of the few sustained and coordinated terrorism campaigns in Australia’s history. Crispian teams up with ABC reporter Alex Mann, and together they traverse the country to find answers and explore the darker forces that still lurk in our suburbs today. Firebomb won the ‘Best True Crime Podcast Award’ at the Australian Podcast Awards in 2024. 

    In Season 4, Snowball, Ollie Wards investigates how his brother’s whirlwind romance with a charismatic Californian woman ultimately cost his family more than a million dollars. When Greg Wards met Lezlie Manukian, a beautiful woman whose world is full of glamour, he is immediately drawn to her. They fall in love, get married and start planning the rest of their lives together - the only catch is Lezlie is a con artist. To find out who his brother’s wife really is, Ollie must track down Lezlie herself, and it soon becomes clear that his family’s story is just one piece of a bigger jigsaw. Snowball won Best True Crime at the Australian Podcast Awards in 2020, was one of Apple Podcasts' Best Listens of 2019, and made the American Bello Collective’s top 100 list that year. 

    In Season 3, Last Seen Katoomba, reporter Gina McKeon digs deep into the suspicious unsolved disappearance of young mum, Belinda Peisley, who was last seen in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba, west of Sydney, in September 1998. Belinda’s life descends into chaos after her 18th birthday when she receives a large inheritance and buys her own place in town. It’s a move her family thinks will set her up for life but, instead, the house becomes a magnet for a world of drugs and a crowd of hangers-on who visit day and night. 

    Gina pieces together the stories and evidence around the six main persons of interest named in the inquest into Belinda’s disappearance and suspected death, and what emerges is a picture of a town and a case shrouded in secrecy.  

    In Season 2, Barrenjoey Road, reporter Ruby Jones tries to solve the mystery of what happened to 18-year-old Trudie Adams after she disappeared while hitchhiking home on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1978. Ruby exposes the dark underbelly of the seemingly beautiful and serene “Insular Peninsula,” uncovering a world where surfers run drugs home from Bali, gangs of men prowl the beaches and predators have unchecked power. Ruby will question why the case was never solved and her investigation will lead her to a criminal monster with links to organised crime and police corruption at the highest level. 

    In Season 1, Blood on the Tracks, award-winning Muruwari and Gomeroi journalist Allan Clarke spends five years investigating the unusual circumstances surrounding the death of 17-year-old Gomeroi teenager, Mark Haines. In 1988, just outside of Tamworth in country New South Wales, a freight train hits Mark’s body lying across the tracks. When the rail worker stops the train and gets out, the scene doesn’t add up. The tracks divide Tamworth in two. An Aboriginal community on one side, a largely white population on the other. Some will say it was a suicide and others a murder. Despite the strange evidence found at the scene of his death, the family feel like they're being ignored by police. An inquiry finds no answers and the mystery is left to fester, causing division and suspicion in the town. Allan’s reporting helps to spark a resurgence of interest in the case that sees the file reopened, a review launched, a reward announced. As Allan gets closer to the truth, the story ends with a revelation no one was expecting, and the thirty-year-old mystery finally begins to unravel. Blood on the Tracks won a Walkley award for Coverage of Indigenous Affairs. 

  • Conversations draws you deeper into the life story of someone you may have heard about, but never met. Journey into their world, joining them on epic adventures to unfamiliar places, back in time to wild moments of history, and into their deepest memories, to be moved by personal stories of resilience and redemption.

    Hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, Conversations is the ABC's most popular long-form interview program. Every day we explore the vast tapestry of human experience, weaving together narratives from history, science, art, and personal storytelling.

    Conversations Live is coming to the stage! Join Sarah Kanowski and Richard Fidler for an unmissable night of unforgettable stories, behind-the-scenes secrets, and surprise guests. Australia’s most-loved podcast — live, up close, and in the moment. Find out more at the Conversations website.

  • Each season, Secrets We Keep investigates a different Australian secret.   

    Behind the White Line (Season 12): An investigation into Australia’s cocaine binge, Behind the White Line, traces the trail of white powder, from narco to nostrils. The series goes inside a $1 billion shipment, exposing a police turf war between the US DEA, the AFP and WA cops over an audacious sting to outwit a Mexican cartel. With exclusive interviews of high-ranking detectives, undercover operatives, DEA agents and coke users, Behind the White Line, examines the human cost of the world’s glamour drug hosted by investigative journalist Richard Baker.

    Dezi Freeman: The Hunt (Season 11): Sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman, disappears into the Australian bush after shooting and killing two police officers, triggering a massive nationwide manhunt. This compelling six‑part investigation explores his radicalisation, the extraordinary pursuit culminating in him being discovered in a shipping container, and the lasting impact on the officers and families involved. Hosted by Michael Usher and Cassie Zervos.

    The Children in the Pictures (Season 10): is an 8 part series hosted by Australian documentary-maker and father of two Akhim Dev, that powerfully examines how child abuse has become endemic online, and what we can all do to fight it.

    Secrets We Keep: Uncovered (Season 9): takes you inside some of the most important investigations of our time, with our expanding network of journalists and sources from around Australia and beyond. Every week, Uncovered pulls back the curtain on the stories powerful people hoped would stay buried, by speaking directly to those who lived and breathed them.

    Jailbreak (Season 8): Journalist Tim Elliott details the extraordinary story of Darko Desic, a fugitive who lived for 30 years on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

    Lone Actor (Season 7): Joey Watson traces the radicalisation trajectory of the Christchurch terrorist, asking the question - did he really act alone? 

    By Any Means (Season 6): An investigation into the modern fertility landscape, confronting complex questions about consent, identity and human rights. 

    Should I Spit? (Season 5): The origin story of the multibillion dollar consumer DNA industry. From police hoping to solve cold murder cases, to one of the most powerful churches in the world, everyone seems to want a piece of what makes you, you. 

    Pray Harder (Season 4): investigative journalist Richard Baker uncovers the unbelievable and compelling true story of Australia’s oldest and most hard line Pentecostal Church, the Geelong Revival Centre. 

    Baghdad Nights (Season 3): Richard Baker takes you inside Australia's biggest corruption scandal, finding out how Australia funded a dictator in the lead up to the Iraq War. 

    Nest of Traitors (Season 2): Joey Watson is pulled into the world of espionage, attempting to track down an Australian spy who turned to work for the enemy during the Cold War. 

    Shame Lies & Family (Season 1): A mystery photo of Amelia Oberhardt’s mum exposes the practice of shotgun marriages, forced adoption, and quiet abortions carried out in Australia until the 1980s.

  • The brand new official Just The Gist podcast is right here (and we've had a glow up)!


    Rosie Waterland tells amazing stories about anything and everything, but with just enough detail to make you sound impressive at a dinner party. Let's get Gistening....


    Subscribe now so we pop straight back into your feed the moment a new episode drops.


    Got a question, suggistion, or burning hot take? Get in touch: [email protected]

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • Background Briefing is the ABC's flagship investigative journalism podcast. Its award-winning investigations and documentaries expose cover-ups, corruption, real-life mysteries, whistleblowing, crime, fraud and miscarriages of justice — often before these stories receive mainstream attention.

    The Background Briefing podcast brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear, told by trusted reporters across Australia.

    This Australian podcast makes investigative journalism bingeable. From scams and fraud to schooling and health scandals, tech and social media digs, police exposes and various unsolved cases, each episode of the Background Briefing podcast is a must-listen.

    Recent series include:

    Hometown Boys exposed how a terrible crime fractured a local community around a local football club.

    The Invisible Killer: a forensic investigation into unexplained deaths in aged care after a doctor makes an unusual discovery.

    The Favourite: how a schoolyard secret stayed hidden for years.

    Stop and Search, which uncovered the mechanics of power and police accountability.

    Before and After investigated medical hype, telehealth, body image, cosmetic procedures and consumer risk.

    Beef: how small feuds escalate into serious disputes.

     

  • Happy Hour takes you into the lives of Lucy and Nikki, the co-creators of @lucy_and_nikki_ and fashion label Jagger & Stone. They'll discuss starting a business, relationships, wild party stories and all the s**t that's on every 20 somethings mind.

  • Exes. We’ve all had one and we’ve all been one. And while breakups can be painful and heart-breaking, a complete surprise or a total relief, there’s always a story to be told.

    This documentary-style series, narrated by Georgia Love, brings you a collection of unconventional stories about relationships past, through the eyes and the hearts of the very people who lived them.

    Tales of public humiliation and prison to forbidden love and funerals; we bring you the good, the bad and all the juicy details in between.

    Everyone Has An Ex explores the deep intricacies of relationships, the curve-balls life throws at you and overcoming adversity through resilience, honesty and a few glasses of wine.

    Submit your story: [email protected]

  • The Spill is your daily entertainment news fix where we break down the biggest celebrity headlines. Join Laura Brodnik and her cast of expert pals like Em Vernem, Tina Burke and Tina Provis for brutally honest takes on pop culture, plus their recommendations that are actually worth watching. New episodes every weekday at 3pm.

    Plus we have the latest pop culture headlines every weekday with the latest Morning Tea from Ash London, and on Friday we'll give you the best new TV shows and movies to binge this weekend in our Weekend Watch.

  • Incisive analysis, fearless debates and nightly surprises. Explore the serious, the strange and the profound with David Marr.

  • Season 6 Expanse: The Nannup Four with Dominique Bayens

    In 2007 four people disappeared from a blue farmhouse on the outskirts of the Western Australian town of Nannup, leaving behind the scatterings of a life, a note pinned to the door and a question: was the disappearance a choice… or murder?

    As police and family try to piece the puzzle together to find the Nannup Four, what emerges is a bizarre story of secrets, hidden identities and rumours of a dark online cult.

    In season six of ABC's award-winning Expanse podcast, host Dominique Bayens investigates the unsettling circumstances around the disappearance, speaking to the people left behind - who still question what they could have done differently. 

    Because when something like this happens, and you're left staring back, how do you live with the choices you've made?

    Expanse is an internationally award-winning podcast that explores big stories from across Australia — a vast continent where anything can happen.

    In Series 5: Nowhere Man, Erin Parke followed the story of a young American who dumped his bicycle and walked out into the Great Sandy Desert in remote northern Australia. He was an Alaskan firefighter, seemingly with everything to live for. So why did he risk it all to go into the wilderness alone? And how do you search for someone who doesn't want to be found?

    In Series 4: Uncropped, host Danielle O'Neal goes from a mosquito-laden lagoon in far north Queensland to the Australian government's classified UFO files, to the US Congress as she seeks to understand what happened, its legacy and why believable people say seemingly unbelievable things.

    Spies in the Outback (Series 3) won the Excellence in Radio Broadcasting award at the Northern Territory Media Awards in 2024 for the story of Pine Gap, a secret US/Australian defence base hidden in the outback.

    From the Dead (Series 2) won silver in the Documentary: History category at the New York Radio Festival awards. It delves into a wild tale of survival at sea off Tasmania's rugged southwest coast.

    Pink Diamond Heist (Series 1) was shortlisted in the New York Radio Awards, Documentary: History category. This season takes you on a rollicking ride through Western Australia on the trail of a diamond heist.

  • Hosted by Sam Bamford, a former Australian Army infantry paratrooper and combat veteran with a deployment to Afghanistan in 2012, the 2 Worlds Collide Podcast has evolved into one of Australia’s most outspoken independent platforms.

    What began as conversations around resilience and mindset has grown into a podcast that challenges prevailing cultural narratives, questions political orthodoxy, and pushes for a common-sense approach, without apology.

    Sam sits down with politicians, veterans, athletes, thinkers, and everyday Australians for long-form, uncensored conversations about what’s really happening in Australia and the West, from politics and national security to masculinity, culture, accountability, and the real-world consequences of bad ideas.

    This podcast isn’t designed to make people comfortable.
    It’s designed to ask hard questions, demand accountability, and say what others won’t.

    If you’re tired of scripted media, safe opinions, and being talked down to, 2 Worlds Collide is for you.

  • Formerly The Money, The Economy, Stupid is your weekly guide to the world of business, economics and finance. Every Thursday, economist Peter Martin is joined by a team of sharp young thinkers for a fresh conversation about the financial stories making headlines and how they might affect you.

  • Two full-time working mums with lots of opinions and no time. Featuring childhood besties Gemma Peanut and Kate Reeves.

  • Something Was Wrong is an award-winning docuseries about survivors' discovery, trauma, and recovery from crime and abuse.

  • A podcast exploring Social Work practice through stories & critical reflection.

  • What makes us conscious beings and why does it matter that we are? In his first ever podcast, Deepak Chopra welcomes a far-ranging group of guests, including Jane Goodall, Russell Brand, Dan Savage, Christopher Wylie, Jean Houston, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and many more, who have paved new paths for understanding our present and future. How do we define, harness, and elevate our minds? How can we live creatively and purposefully? What makes you…you? Join Deepak as he delves into this moment of great transformation to answer these questions…and explore our infinite potential.

  • When Brian Dowling lost his mum Rosie two years ago, it changed his outlook on life.

    Grief is a complicated journey, and one that Brian now endeavours to explore with the help of his friends and family. Join Brian and his nearest and dearest as they grow to understand death through open conversation, humour and honesty.

  • We’ve all had wardrobe malfunctions – moments when our clothes badly let us down. Susannah Constantine has had many. Like the time her dress straps snapped during a Windsor Castle supper, releasing her breasts into the soup. Clothes and how they define us have fascinated Susannah for years – and were famously explored in her seminal 'What Not To Wear' TV series and bestselling books. Now, she returns to her first and true love in 'My Wardrobe Malfunction', a revealing podcast about our relationship with the items we wear. The ups, downs and a lot more besides… This series began in January 2020 and continued over Zoom throughout lockdown, so please forgive any sound malfunctions. Promise we get our acts together eventually!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • The Gays Are Revolting is a dissection of social and cultural issues relevant to gay men. We put the G in LGBTQIA+, and we’re here to help you be the best G you can be.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  • When April Balascio was 40 years old, something she’d feared for decades was finally proven true. Her father, Edward Wayne Edwards, really was a murderer. The Clearing is about what came after April called a detective in 2009 to tell him about her suspicions — a call that led to her father’s arrest and eventual conviction on multiple murders — and tracks the emotional journey as she and host Josh Dean dig back into her childhood, unravel the truth of her father’s life, and overturn a viral online narrative that had turned Edward Wayne Edwards into a kind of serial killer caricature. Produced by Pineapple Street Studios in association with Gimlet.